Sussex residents concerned for elderly relatives living alone

People in Sussex are worried about elderly relatives who want to live alone according to a survey by Lloyds Pharmacy.

The study found more than 27 per cent of people in the South East have a elderly relative who has suffered a fall or other incident at their home.

Most of the falls were due to loose rugs, stairs or baths.

Despite these incidents, the report found, only 9 per cent of elderly people would be happy to go into a care home or receive other care.

The research carried out by the pharmacy chain discovered that 61 per cent of people in the South East worry about the cost of caring for an elderly relative, while less than a third have space for the once traditional ‘granny annex’.

To address the problem Betterlife from LloydsPharmacy, in association with BT, are launching a low cost 24 hour personal care alarm to make wearable technology accessible to all.

Grant Abrahams, Head of Betterlife said, “Technology has revolutionised our lives, but until now, it has somewhat bypassed the older generation, yet there is no need for this.

“We’ve identified some key areas to help support our elderly generation and offer peace of mind to the nation’s carers using relatively simple technology.”

NHS figures say one in three people over 65 will have a fall at home and around half will fall frequently.

The NHS also highlights falls as the most common cause of injury-related death in people over 75.

The Personal Care Alarm, the first in a series of devices set to be launched by LloydsPharmacy, is a wearable, easy-to-activate emergency button that can be worn as a wristband, lanyard or clipped onto a pocket.

The alarm, which can be worn whilst bathing, and works within a 50 metre range of the home, connects to any UK landline and if activated alerts the trained monitoring centre team.

More information is available from lloydspharmacy.com/care.

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